Page 39 of Hold Fast

“Are you well, Lady Una?” the man asked, his dark eyes narrow with concern.

“I need to speak to Laird MacDonald,” she said around her gasps. “’Tis urgent.”

“Is aught amiss?”

“Nay. Nothing is amiss. Only I must find him. Do you ken where he would have gone?”

David pointed behind her. “He went to the loch. Just beyond that hill.”

Una grabbed her skirts and took off again, Greer close on her heels. Behind her, she heard David shout, “Let me send a man for him!” but she did not stop. She could not stop.

The cold air seared her lungs and stung her nostrils as she sprinted, grateful that she had forgotten her cloak after all, but she kept moving, feeling the hard ground underneath her feet as she tore across the field. As Una ran, she realized that she was bursting with eagerness to tell Ewan the news herself. That kept her feet moving, one in front of the other, long after her legs began to ache and her lungs felt as if they would burst into flames.

The loch grew closer, the water shimmering in the morning light. Calman stood nearby, lazily grazing on what was left of the grass. His mane fluttered in the breeze, and he lifted his head as she drew closer, nickering happily. Ewan was nowhere to be seen. Greer raced to the water and drank.

“Where is your master, Calman?” Una asked, trying to calm her breath as she stroked the horse’s long nose. He bobbed his head up and down eagerly before pressing against her torso, looking for a treat.

“You’re a greedy one, my darling,” she said, her eyes scanning the loch for any sign of him.

A sudden splash had her whipping her head toward the loch, where a figure burst from under the water with a sputtering roar. Greer yelped and scrambled away, hiding behind Calman. There, in the frigid morning light, was Ewan. Standing waist deep in the loch, water streaming down his torso in rivulets around the hard contours and soft spaces of his body. He shook his head like a dog, cursing. When he saw her, his eyes went wide, and he charged out of the water.

“Una! What is the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I… You…. I … You’re naked,” she stammered as she spun quickly around.

“Goddamnit,” Ewan cursed loudly. “A moment, Una.”

She felt her cheeks turn pink and grow hot with her blush, which was ridiculous. She was a healer, for God’s sake. She had seen a hundred naked men.At least. Calman whinnied as if he found the entire scene hilarious before returning to his grazing.

Behind her, she heard mumbled curses and the rustling of fabric. Satisfied that it was only Ewan, Greer lay down and began rolling, rubbing her back against the scratchy, dead grass.

“There. Now, what has happened?” he asked. Una turned, startled to see that he stood less than a foot away. Ewan had put on his leine shirt but not his plaid. The bottom hem barely reached the middle of his thighs. It covered the bits that most needed shielding, but only just.

Una felt the blush rising from her chest to the tops of her ears. As a child, she had been teased about them turning as red as a fire poker.

Ewan placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently and bringing her back. “Una! What has happened?” he shouted, sounding wild and desperate. She did not flinch away.

She forced herself to keep her eyes on his face. Not on his broad shoulders. Not on the way the fabric clung to the strong lines of his torso. Definitely not on his bare thighs.

“Una,” he repeated. “Talk to me.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she shook herself. “Oh, Ewan,” she said thickly. “’Tis Connor—”

He was silent, standing still as stone for two or three breaths. “Och, Una. May I… may I hug you?” he whispered.

It was easy, far easier than she thought it would be, to step closer, to let his arms slide around her and hold her close. He smelled like water. Una’s arms moved hesitantly around his torso, and she allowed herself to relax against the soft dampness of his shirt.

He felt so good. So strong. Sosafe. How long had it been since she’d felt truly safe? How long since someone had held her like this and she’d been unafraid? At least a year, but it felt like a lifetime. Una took a deep, shuddering breath.

“There now, Una,” Ewan said, his voice thick as he rubbed a hand up and down the length of her spine. “You did your verra best.”

Una shook herself, hearing the mournful tone. “What?”

“I will be forever grateful that you came and tried to save him.”

She pushed against his chest and stepped back so that she could look him in the eye. Her heart splintered when she saw the tears coursing down his cheeks.

“Nay! Ewan! I didnae— Saints, what a damned mess I made of this,” she said. “Connor isnae dead! His fever is broken!”